Roaring Forty Records

Roaring Forty  has an enviable sailing record under her former owner Belgian skipper Michel Kleinjans.

In preparation for the 2008 Portimao Global Ocean Race (click here for the glossy brochure GOR - contents page photo is RF), Michel believed the way to attract sponsors was to have a crack at setting a new World Record. Other records included 11 days solo Around Britain and Ireland; 4 days solo Around Ireland; and Class 3 winner in the solo Route du Rhum.

Here is Michel's account of his Marseille to Carthage record as documented on the BLUR sailing blog (good read) by another talented solo skipper, Peter Gustafsson.

The Record: Marseille to Carthage

Type: Single handed monohull 
Name: Michel Kleinjans (BEL) 'Roaring Forty'
Date: 01-02 Mar 2008
Start: 00:20:30 on 01 Mar 2008
Finish: 21:44:30 on 02 Mar 2008
Elapsed: 1d 21h 24m 
Avg Speed: 10 knots

Question
What does a Belgian building contractor and solo sailor do to attract some interest in his next venture; the PORTIMAO GLOBAL OCEAN RACE (GOR).

Answer
He puts down a speed sailing record so that the potential sponsors come flooding in, well that is the idea at least and crossing the Med seems like a piece of cake of course….

So you bring your boat to Marseille from Malta after the Rolex Middle Sea race and wait a few days till the wind is ok and off you go. Well then you wait 7 weeks for a decent weather window!

But just in the middle off a very busy working week that happened, so you cancel all your meetings and appointments, and get a few unhappy clients. Thursday afternoon you hop into your car to drive a thousand kilometers to Marseille, were you arrive in the middle off the night, you sleep 5 hours, in the morning you start preparing the boat and call a few times with the local company that was going to get some bugs out of your electronics, so you have at least some instruments working, then you get that diver arranged to scrub the bottom nice and smooth( that is thanks to my brother who lives nearby). Sort out the last issues, get the visit of the WSSRC representative, call the meteo guru and by the time you are off you are already through your adrenaline for the first night!

Then you go to the start line, to see that the wind is not there!

Call the meteo man again, he searches for a computer as it is Friday night and looks up some satellite pictures, to tell you something you don’t understand but that the wind will fill in later than he predicted just 6 hours before. So there you are waiting 4 more hours in the bay of Marseille looking at the city lights, and spoiling the dinner of the WSSRC representative, so you call the guy that he can go and eat the next course because you are still drifting around in the bay with no wind..

Then after midnight the wind gently fills in, you sheet in your main, unfurl the code 0 and of you go…Completely in need of sleep of course.

After 3 miles you go round the corner at Tiboulen light for 300 miles straight sailing to the south west corner of Sardinia, you get the chute up, and then you really need some rest…., you leave it to the pilot and try to sleep a bit in the cockpit.

After half an hour the wind really begins to pick up and you decide to hand steer, two hours later the first wipe out. Time to get the spinnaker down and get some proper rest, the wind backs a bit so genoa on an outer sheet and mainsail, ideal sleeping conditions at last

The wind increases till 20-25kn from 115° on starboard for the rest off the Saturday so a piece of cake till Sardinia.

You go round Isla Toro at 3.14 in the morning and get up the chute again as you have to go 15° deeper, now it is becoming a bit more rock and roll, as the wind picks up till 25knots and you have the masthead chute up, making 12 or 13kn average speed for a few hours, you enjoy a nice sunrise, and again you realize you are getting tired, so lets change the chute for the code0/gennaker. During the manouevre you wrap the spinnaker round the fore stay, gybe to get if off, then the main halliard breaks, so that leaves no other choice but to get up the mast. Two hours later the mess is cleared and off again now with only a code zero, but as the wind picked up you are doing again 10 or 11 knots average, nice. An hour sleep now, after threequarter of an hour ‘bang’, and there goes the furler up in the air. One way or another you get the sail back on deck you hoist the jib and use the mast head spinnaker halliard for the main sail with 2 reefs and that is it till the finish.

A few more hours and you finish, just about 10knots of average speed, not too bad for a 40 footer and the Roaring Forty skipper. And now let’s hope it will bring in some bucks back in the home country?

The local WSSRC representative, a very friendy lady and the secretary general of the local yacht club of Sidi Bou Said, are awaiting me in the marina and after a very nice meal and some good local wine, offered by the latter I fall asleep in my bunk, an exhausting last few days!

All the best
Michel Kleinjans